She detailed some powerful anecdotes, including the story of two sisters whose mother lay dying in a hospital. The cost of parking was prohibitive and the daughters took it in turns to sit in the car watching out for the parking inspector. When their mother died, only one of the daughters was there; the other was in the car.

I confess I had not thought about how if you are caring for a family member, you are unable to fulfil the requirements for income support.

Merryn encouraged us not to forget the costs to the family of caring in the push to shift end of life care from hospital to home. The costs of caring fall disproportionally to women and can include not only lost income but also pharmaceuticals, parking, higher utility bills, new clothes when weight is lost, more bedding, and costs of hosting family and friends. There is lack of evidence about the “last taboo” – the cost of caring.

Join the team from @palliverse for the first #ANZSPM16 post-Conference tweet chat on “The cost of caring”, featuring special guest @merryngott. The tweet chat will be moderated by Dr James Jap @japmanforever on Wednesday 5th October at